We
should recall that mediocrity has no place
in Ignatius’ world view; he demands leaders in service to
others in building the Kingdom of God in the market place
of business and ideas, of service, of law and justice, of
economics, theology and all areas of human life. He urges
us to work for the greater glory of God because the world
desperately needs men and women of competence and conscience
who generously give of themselves for others.
Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.
Peter-Hans
Kolvenbach, S.J., a native of the Netherlands, became a Jesuit,
studied linguistics, and taught in Lebanon for many years,
before becoming head of the Pontifical Oriental Institute
in Rome. He was elected superior general of the Society of
Jesus in 1983. In one of his talks he profiled the ideal graduates
of a Jesuit education.
|
forgiveness
and self-acceptance. Where today I have lived faithfully and
productively, I rejoice in God’s service. God does not ask the
impossible from me, only the good that I can do and be.
• Noting Patterns.
I stand before my history as God does—lovingly wise about who
I am, eager to make me part of the work of the Kingdom, allowing
me to understand the patterns of my life that lead me to a more
personal sense of how God calls me here at Boston College. Are
there emerging insights about the life I should live? Are there
difficulties that I keep trying to avoid and know I must face?
Are there people, places and occasions that especially open
me to God? And are there people, places, and occasions that
bring out the worst in me? What does God want me to do with
the person that I am becoming?
• Orienting My Future.
Finally, I ask to live as Christ did. I look at the pattern
of openness and the essentials of his teaching. I look at the
trust he had in God’s design for the world. I look at his availability
to people. I accept the strategy of forgiveness, truthfulness
and service that Christ portrayed. I want to believe that I
am called to live just as Christ was, as a woman or man for
others. Of course, I will fail. But failure can be the way to
wisdom and compassion if I use failure to know myself better
and to understand the human heart more deeply. More important,
I look ahead out of the successes of the day. I ask to live
with a growing sense of God’s trust in my future.
NEXT
PAGE |
PREVIOUS
PAGE